Etymologies

Possibly from Greek khronios, long lasting, from khronos, time.

(American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Coined between 1655 and 1665 from Ancient Greek χρόνιος (khrónios, "perennial, long-lasting") (English chrono- ("time"), initially as Cambridge University slang,[2][3][4][5] in sense of “chum”, as “friend of long standing”,[6] with illegal connotation later.[7] (Wiktionary)

Examples

But at a Conservatives4Palin gathering Friday night in a restaurant near Des Moines, many in the crowd of 180 - about half of whom had traveled from Texas - repeatedly used the phrase "crony capitalism" to describe what they didn't like about their state's chief executive.

The phrase "crony capitalism" is one Palin used in a speech in Iowa last weekend and repeated last night. notes on its website that less than one percent of recipients reported "adverse events" after receiving the vaccine.

In the wide-ranging interview, Bachmann also slammed the Obama White House for what she calls "crony capitalism," arguing that people politically connected to the president benefit the most from his policies.

In a morning speech from Rock Hill, S.C., Wednesday, Mr. Gingrich did not repeat his attack on Mr. Romney's record at Bain, but he refused to apologize for condemning what he called "crony capitalism" in his campaign.